UN.GIFT Study Exchange

January 2009 - In December 2008, UN.GIFT held its first study exchange of one week in Vienna, bringing practitioners from Nigeria and Austria together to share information and experiences in the fight against human trafficking. The main participants were representatives of two Nigerian organizations NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related matters), WOTCLEF (Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation), and Drehscheibe Augarten. Moreover, a wide group of stakeholders, including the Austrian Human Trafficking Task Force and law enforcement, International Organizations, such as UNODC and IOM, and local NGOs such as LEFOE and EXIT participated in the study exchange.

The increasing number of trafficked women and minors from Nigeria to Austria over the past ten years presents the need to strengthen the existing relationships with Nigeria especially in the areas of law enforcement, investigation shelter management and victim support. The main goals of the study exchange were to undertake an interactive training at the Austrian crisis centre Drehscheibe conducted by its Director and other staff members and the establishment of contacts and working relations with stakeholders in both countries.

Drehscheibe, established in 2003, is the first Austrian crisis centre for victims of child trafficking and takes care of unaccompanied minor foreigners by cooperating with the countries of origin such as Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, China and Nigeria to find long-term solutions. An important part of their work is the transfer of practical know-how by conducting training courses for national practitioners working in the countries of origin to guarantee the best possible care and help for the children.

The starting point for a fruitful cooperation between Drehscheibe and the Nigerian partners was the issue of combating human trafficking in the area of law enforcement, capacity building and awareness rising in Austria and in Nigeria. Through the study exchange, the Austrian crisis centre has become a valuable partner to NAPTIP and WOTCLEF as the Nigerian participants were able to obtain practical advice, build partnerships with Austrian CSOs and observe new approaches that are currently applied by Drehscheibe. An example is the provision of minors with an information card to indicate that they are attended by a shelter with contact details of the social worker in charge.

As a follow-up to the study exchange, the Nigerian participants will conduct peer trainings in their home country and will support the Austrian organizations in identifying suitable counterparts in Nigeria. Future cooperation between UN.GIFT, NAPTIP and WOTCLEF is planned through local and regional projects carried out by UNODC and IOM.